Fierce fighting continued in southern Yemen between Emirati-backed separatists and the country’s internationally recognized government Thursday, security officials said, a blow to the Saudi-led coalition’s declared ceasefire between the factions.

Battles in the flashpoint Abyan province between Saudi-backed government forces and Emirati-funded southern secessionists killed at least 54 fighters on both sides over the last 24 hours, said Yemeni security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media.

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A top Iranian commander on Wednesday claimed that the country’s armed forces had concluded a massive military operation and “cleared” an area close to the Iran-Iraq border of Kurdish opposition fighters.

The campaign began Tuesday and took place in an area between the Iranian province of Kurdistan known as the Chehel-Cheshme mountain range to the eastern border crossing with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, according to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces Commander Mohammed Pakpour.

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Burkina Faso’s security forces said on Tuesday they had destroyed two jihadist bases in the north and east of the country and arrested two suspects near the border with the Ivory Coast.

A gendarmerie unit on Saturday “dismantled a terrorist base” near the eastern town of Tanwalbougou, the armed forces chief of staff said in a weekly bulletin.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday confirmed that Chinese and Indian military commanders held a second meeting on June 22, the first after the Galwan Valley region incident on June 15.

The meeting shows that China and India are willing to resolve differences, handle the situation and de-escalate tension through dialogue and consultation, Zhao said at a press briefing.

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At least 20 civilians were killed in attacks on two villages in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend, the army said on Monday, the latest in a surge of ethnic violence that has forced more than 200,000 people from their homes.

Fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who claim a loose affiliation with the Islamic State militant group, attacked the village of Vukaka in Ituri province on Sunday, according to the Congolese army (FARDC).

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